Shuttle Discovery
Dulles, VA — The space shuttle Discovery sits atop a NASA 747 carrier aircraft landing after the final time of space shuttle Discovery at Dulles International Airport. Discovery flew aboard a modified jumbo jet to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 where the shuttle will be put on permanent display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Discovery completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers







Of course there were unseen agents and other security measures in and around the tree lines of the large open field and the park was already a very secure area as visitors passed through security to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial for earlier 9/11 anniversary ceremonies.




